Frank Jacobs

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Frank Jacobs

Journalist, writer, and blogger

strange maps

Frank Jacobs is Big Think's "Strange Maps" columnist.

From a young age, Frank was fascinated by maps and atlases, and the stories they contained. Finding his birthplace on the map in the endpapers of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings only increased his interest in the mystery and message of maps.

While pursuing a career in journalism, Frank started a blog called Strange Maps, as a repository for the weird and wonderful cartography he found hidden in books, posing as everyday objects and (of course) floating around the Internet.

"Each map tells a story, but the stories told by your standard atlas for school or reference are limited and literal: they show only the most practical side of the world, its geography and its political divisions. Strange Maps aims to collect and comment on maps that do everything but that - maps that show the world from a different angle".

A remit that wide allows for a steady, varied diet of maps: Frank has been writing about strange maps since 2006, published a book on the subject in 2009 and joined Big Think in 2010. Readers send in new material daily, and he keeps bumping in to cartography that is delightfully obscure, amazingly beautiful, shockingly partisan, and more.

Everything Videos Articles
European discoveries
Strange Maps
What did Europeans actually discover? Not all that much
This map shows that the territories discovered by Europeans add up to an area no bigger than Utah.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Don’t even try to read “Moby Dick” without this map
This might help you make it to the end of Herman Melville’s 19th century classic.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Electricity generation by U.S. state
U.S. states vary radically in terms of electricity generation. Vermont is the cleanest, while Delaware is the dirtiest.
Frank Jacobs
U.S.-Canada territorial disputes
Strange Maps
U.S. vs. Canada: five modern-day territorial disputes
All of these conflicts have a long history. They may also have a long future.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Did dark magic conjure up the British Empire?
Esoteric evidence points to a ritual performed by Queen Elizabeth's court magician John Dee.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Europe’s oldest map shows tiny Bronze Age kingdom
Discovered in 1900, the Saint-Bélec slab languished unrecognized in a castle basement for over a century.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Peak foliage map: where and when are leaves changing color?
Starting just about now, leaves start changing color from north to south, high to low, light to dark.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Here’s how early school begins – and why it is bad for students
In Louisiana, high school starts at 7:30 am. Research shows that is at least an hour too early.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Famous map of a woman’s heart tells only half the story
One of the best-known allegorical depictions of love has a rather pessimistic male twin.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Just four colors are enough for any map. Why?
The four-color theorem was one of the past century's most popular and enduring mathematical mysteries.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
German street names still echo Nazi, Communist, and even Roman past
Even 1500 years after the fall of Rome, its western border can still be seen on German street maps.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
One man visited all 2964 bus stops in San Francisco — for science
Americans don't like to ride the bus. There are ways to fix that.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Why the U.S. and Belgium are culture buddies
The Inglehart-Welzel World Cultural map replaces geographic accuracy with closeness in terms of values.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
American imperialism: fat-shaming Uncle Sam
Opponents of 19th-century American imperialism were not above body-shaming the personification of the U.S. government.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Android has won the phone world war
A global survey shows the majority of countries favor Android over iPhone.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
More than half the world is still unmapped — but not for long
By the end of this decade, Seabed 2030 wants to produce accurate maps for the remaining 80 percent of the ocean floor.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Free speech? Not everybody loves it, this map shows
In some countries, people want more freedom of speech. In others, they feel that there is too much.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
How much does it cost to start a business? There’s a world map for that
UAE is the world's most expensive country to start a business, but it's free in Rwanda.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Mysterious dodecahedrons of the Roman Empire
The first of many dodecahedrons was unearthed almost three centuries ago, and we still don't know what they were for.
Frank Jacobs
Strange Maps
Why Africa’s newest super-bridge is in the continent’s weirdest border zone
The Kazungula Bridge connects Zambia and Botswana, barely missing Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Frank Jacobs
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